The Debate of Gun Control

Mr. Corpus' take on gun control is one I can relate with quite well. Gun control in the United States is poor, and as acts of gun related violence increases this also increases the amount of guns sold. I'm certain that everyone could agree that guns should not be sold to felons, and the mentally ill. The question Mr. Corpus' asks is, "...are these government officials really making the proper and necessary laws to keep gun violence to a minimum?" In the aftermath of a tragic event involving gun violence, gun sales are greatly affected ( Sandy Hook ), however, gun sales do not directly correlate with gun violence. The background checks that we go through are very efficient at doing what they are designed to do, and that's to ensure guns do not find themselves in the hands of documented non-law abiding citizens. Criminals however, do not always have a criminal record. In the case of the Navy Yard shooting, a man who is well versed in weapons would pass any background check and with the military ID would have been trusted to purchase/handle any firearm of his choosing.

I think to say "Gun laws are too lax, we need to make them stricter" is an easy thing to say. What more can possibly be done to make them stricter? Should a person have to be mentally evaluated and interviewed by a licensed therapist in order to purchase a firearm? Or perhaps be evaluated in order to receive a CHL or other type of license to purchase a firearm which in turn would be required to purchase a gun? But even hypothetically speaking if all of these stipulations were in place you could still name instances of tragic gun violence in the past that would have occurred regardless. The fact of the matter is, criminals ( documented or not ) will act upon any intent they have regardless of a law. Because that's what criminals do. It is the task of law enforcement and only in certain contexts the task of the citizens to handle these types of people. The thought of using violence to curb violence is obviously not a popular one. However, it is our founding fathers who agreed to this, and even used in the past.

Personally I feel the gun laws are fine where they are and they do not need to be made more strict or more relaxed. Making it one way or another would either turn us into a gun violence ridden country or turned into one giant police state(which nobody wants). But whether you like it or not, gun violence is enforced by law enforcement and YOU. Unless of course someone is willing and able to revise the Constitution of the United States. When it comes to gun control, knowledge and preparation is key.

LAX shooting reignites debate over TSA workers' role in security 

    The recent shooting that took the life of a Transportation Security Administration official has sparked a debate on whether or not airport screeners should be given firearms as well as arresting powers in order to protect people in the wake of last weeks tragedy. These officers have been entrusted to protect our checkpoints and by not arming them are we not giving them all of the necessary tools to do their job? Which is to protect and ensure safety at security checkpoints. With the ever growing phenomenon of public shootings this debate is relevant as ever.

    Despite their appearance and title, the TSA are not federal officers. With a workforce of more than 45,000 people across the country, the idea of arming these individuals in the immediate aftermath of an event like what happened in LAX seems like a fair argument. But when you think about it, that's a lot of guns, and a lot of training would have to come with that. Arming TSA officials would only make the matter worse in the long run.

   While the events that happened can warrant a discussion one thing that must happen, other than arming 45k people, is to review and evaluate policies with both the airport police ( who are armed ) as well as TSA officials. At most international airports, hundreds and hundreds of armed police officers are roaming around at any given time. Arming that however many more people, I believe, will not prevent a similar incident from happening. Regardless of the unfortunate fatality, the events that happened at LAX were rather efficient. As soon as the shooter opened fire, the response mechanism was kicked into gear and the shooter neutralized.

   This event was good in a sense that the TSA can reevaluate their policies and procedures but any change would be time-consuming and distracting to officers and their mission: finding people and items that present threats to aircraft.